As the No. 4 ranked country in the World Baseball Softball Confederation(WBSC) standings, South Korea officially qualifies for the WBSC Premier12 baseball tournament next year.

The governing body announced Thursday that South Korea is among 12 men’s teams set to compete in the fourth edition of the quadrennial WBSC Premier12 in 2027.

The qualifying teams made up the top 12 on the WBSC’s list as of December 31.

South Korea and the other eleven — Japan, Chinese Taipei, the U.S., Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Cuba, Australia and the Dominican Republic — will enter the opening round along with four more teams to be chosen through the 2026 qualifiers.

Those still vying for a spot are Colombia, Italy, Czechia, Nicaragua, China, Germany, Great Britain, and either the No. 20-ranked Canada or a wild card.

The 16 finalist teams will compete in four groups, with the top two in each group advancing to the next round, and the same format applies in the second round.

The final four teams will then enter the super round, after which the top two face off against each other in the gold medal match and the other two compete for the bronze medal.

South Korea won the inaugural championship in 2015 and finished in second place in 2019.